Pre-season sliding is over, and I placed 5th in our Selection Race in Whistler. On October 20, 2019, I was also named to the National Skeleton Program - Development Team. 

Below is titled Dear Grace. A letter to remind you how the last 7 seasons have shaped you to be who you are today. 

Dear Grace; 

In October 2012, you took a leap and started the sport of skeleton.

You don't know it yet, but it is going to change your life. 

It is going to challenge you, physically and mentally. Take you down many dead ends, and ultimately change how you view life. 

It is not always going to be personal bests and sunshine. There are going to be bruises, moments of heartbreak, and everything else in between. 

You are in your second year of university when you start, and people are going to tell you that this is a crazy thing. It is going to ruin your degree, not allow you to pursue a career and most of all, going to be a much waste of time. 

You don't know it yet, but you are going to prove these people wrong. Not for them, but for yourself. 

I know you are scared that the pull of sliding won't allow you to graduate university - but you will get the time away to race, and be able to apply concepts of education directly to your athletic development. 

I also know you worry about your future career, and how people refer to your athletic career as putting your work career off. 

You may not know it until you graduate, but sliding is going to challenge you to be creative, look outside the box, and make some unique decisions in terms of short term jobs. 

It will allow you to be versatile, adapt to new jobs easily, and truly find your path. 

But... it will also have financial insecurity, moments of doubt in WTF you are actually doing with your life, and have many tears and fears when jobs come up that simply won't work with your calendar. 

However, sliding will also enrich your life. 

It will teach you to work with all different kinds of people, conduct yourself under pressure, and do things, even when they scare you out of your mind. 

Grace; you truly have no idea what this quick decision to take a sliding school will really do and what it will turn into. 

At moments when people seemed to count you out almost every year, you perservered, challenging to prove them wrong. 

Dear Grace; you are now a part of the National Skeleton Team. 

Yes, you. 

I don't even think you thought this was possible. 

It's a small step, but this was a goal of yours for a long time. 

Enjoy it. 

Continue to push harder.

You do have bigger goals, ones that you may not accomplish. Don't be apologetic about dreaming big, because once this moment didn't seem possible either. 

I'm proud that you continued to persevere. That you didn't give up - because you felt in your heart you still had more to give.

GD